1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a financial institution system for shops which deal with valuable paper sheets such as bills and securities, e.g., banks, post offices stock companies and so forth and also to a method of controlling the financial institution system, as well as to an apparatus for conveying valuable paper sheets.
2. Description of the Related Arts
A financial institution system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 62-78694. This system has a wicket counter section for dispensing and receiving cash, and a safe section having a safe and adapted for administrating cash, cash books and securities. The cash and so forth are conveyed from the safe section to the wicket counter section and vice versa by a conveyor system. The conveyor system has conveyor paths laid under the floor so as to connect these sections. A carrier for carrying the cash or the like is adapted to run along the conveyor paths so that the cashes or the like are conveyed between the wicket counter section and the safe section.
In the conventional system, no arrangement such as T junction is adopted for conveying cash or the like to and from three paths which are connected in a T-like form. When a three-way convey of cashes or the like is necessary, a pair of gate members are provided at the junction so as to switch the direction of the convey.
The above-described system is advantageous in that the wicket counters can be freely positioned on the floor of the shop because the convey paths are hidden under the floor. This system, however, suffers from the following disadvantages which are to be overcome when the system is put into practical use.
Namely, a construction work is necessary for forming ditches or grooves under the floor at a cost of money and labor. In addition, the conveyor paths once set cannot be altered, which undesirably limits the lay-out of the wicket counters. Furthermore, quite a laborious and troublesome work is necessary for repairing the conveyor system in the event of a failure because no means is provided for dealing with such a trouble.
Furthermore, a pair of gate members are necessary for a three-way convey, increasing the number of parts and requiring complicated control, resulting in a greater tendency of troubles such as jamming.